photography non-profit

Here is an interesting project. Give them some money, and help kids learn about photography.

matted orange

shine

pigmented tulip

more photography news

I am thrilled to have an image in the upcoming exhibit PIXELS: The Art of Iphone Photography, at the Orange County Center For Contemporary Art, March 31-April 30, 2011. All images in the show can be seen following this link. The show is put together by the folks behind the site Pixels - The Art of the Iphone.

it's coming, on april 4!

I'm excited to finally being able to tell you that I'm one of the contributors to Stephanie Roberts' new book The Art of Iphoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity. The book is a practical guide to using your mobile phone to make art, and it will be available in the US through Barnes&Noble, Amazon, and Urban Outfitters. The book will be published simultaneously in the United Kingdom. The companion website, with previews and other good stuff, is here.

impersonal exchanges, and using machines as shields

I was at Trader Joe's the other day, and when it became my turn the check-out guy said "hi". I said "hi" back, and then it was silent. After some seconds of this I started wondering why he didn't ask me how I was doing, or how my day was going, or any other of the generic impersonal questions check-out people ask. After a while it was obvious he wasn't going to talk to me at all. "OK", I thought, "I'll ask him how he's doing for a change."

So I did. And he didn't say that he was "good" like 99% of people will. Instead he told me that he was "pretty frustrated, tell you the truth." He said he didn't want to get into it too much, but that he was frustrated with how customers were treating him. He said they didn't respond to his greetings, look at him, or address him at all.

So we had a little conversation about that, and he bagged my stuff, and we said "bye". It was a pleasant enough exchange. As I was leaving, I looked over my shoulder to see what the person next in line would do. Would she look at him?

No, she wouldn't. She was on her phone, in the middle of a conversation. She didn't talk to the guy, didn't look at him, only talked on her phone and fiddled with her credit card, and the machine.

It made me sad.

infrared film

I've taken darkroom photography classes lately, and jumped from iphoneography to something really old fashioned: using infrared film. It's fun, and very tricky. I like the dreamy effect a lot. More here: this is a link to a flickr set.

the i.phonography book

I'm very happy to have one image in this book by Attilio Lauria. It's a collection of iphone photography from a contest and an exhibit held in Paola, Italy, in the fall of 2010. The book is published through blurb.com, and it is available for purchase online. In addition to 100 images, the book also contains essays in which the curators discuss iphoneography from a theoretical point of view. The book is a great introduction to an emerging art form.